DORNIER air-jet weaving machine for tire cord - Lindauer DORNIER ...

DORNIER air-jet weaving machine for tire cord
Increasing volume requirements
and also higher claims on safety
and performance for vehicle tires
have necessitated the development
of a modern, high-speed and highprecision
tire cord weaving machine.
Tire cord installation AWSR 4/E4
The special characteristics of cord
fabrics for motor car tires mean that
they claim a special status among
industrial fabrics. They are characterized
by:
• large quantities of yarn (number
of ends and yarn counts) comprising
viscose rayon and manmade
filaments in the warp
• the utilization of filling yarns of
fine, low-tenacity cotton or elastic
yarns of polyamide/cotton blends
for the cord fabric on the one hand,
and coarse cotton plied yarns or
filament glass core yarns with cotton
or synthetic coverings for the
tabbies on the other. In order to
ensure that, when manufacturing
the tire, the filling yarn in the carcass
causes no disruption, but still
retains the position and correct distribution
of the warp yarns, pick
densities of 5.0–14 per 10 cm are
usually applied
• strict test conditions imposed by
the tire manufacturers with regard
to warp yarn strength and elongation,
and also closely toleranced
warp end distribution. All the test
values from the beginning to the
end of the woven batch, and also
from the left- to the right-hand fabric
selvedge must meet these requirements
in full.
Accordingly, if a weaving machine is
to be successful in this industrial
fabric sector, it must meet the following
requirements:
• absolutely equal-length warpend
feed combined with high, uniform
feed rates and high, uniform
tension levels,
• exact end distribution over the
entire weaving width,
• highly uniform, low-stress filling
insertion,
• stable selvedges despite of missing
weft return as usual with shuttle
looms,
• reliable selvedge formation at
maximum speeds,
• careful guidance of the slipsensitive
fabric over guide roll combinations
to the batching motion,
• adjustable winding hardness on
the fabric roll with no distortion or
skew in the batch,
• cylindrical and flush selvedge
build-up on batch roll,
• easy handling when weaving,
• automatic change-over to cord
or tabby weave,
• high productivity with assured
quality standards.
The DORNIER AWSR 4/E4 air-jet
weaving machine meets these
requirements in a thoroughly
convincing manner.
The proven weaving machine concept for tire cord
1. Warp end feed
The yarns delivered by the creel are
arranged by a condenser board and
assembly rollers into a level warp sheet
which runs into the feed frame upstream
of the weaving machine. A
weaver’s platform connects the weaving
machine and the feed frame for
easy access. The feed frame is
equipped with a rear reed or expansion
combs, the lease which keeps
the cord yarns in the usual one-to-one
pitch, and a first warp stop motion or
a laser stop motion which detects any
end breaks in the yarns arising from
the creel sufficiently early to ensure
that the quality of the tire cord remains
unimpaired for the downstream weaving
process.
A compensating roller is also provided
here to ensure, perfect synchronisation
between the high take-up speed
in the weaving machine and the everchanging
inertia of the bobbins in the
creel. If the weaving machine is
Feed frame with compensating roller
stopped, the compensator accumulates
a length of yarn for subsequent
release to enable trouble-free restarting.
A patented soft start is programable
so that the machine starts at
approximately 320 rpm and accelerates
over 5 – 10 seconds to the final
machine speed. This reduces tension
peaks in the creel, especially with
heavy spools (10 – 12 kg) or an insufficient
creel.
Trio of rollers for fabric transport
Batching device
2. Electronically controlled warp
let-off and fabric take-up devices
The deflection roller and generously
dimensioned feed roll in the weaving
machine are integrated in the EWL,
electronic warp let-off device, as a
single unit in order to ensure that the
cord material is fed to the weaving
process slip-free and with precisely
controlled tension, regardless the pretension
from the creel. This control
assembly is capable of adjusting the
warp tensions to different values for
the cord and tabby weaving processes.
The warp tensions are controlled
by a load cell. A second warp stop
motion or further laser stop motions
detect cord breaks because of knots
and spliced joints which may open
during the weaving process.
A triple roller assembly, comprising of
one driven and two idling rolls ensures
that the take-up operation of the
finished fabric is free of slip and filling
distortion. The pick density required is
controlled by the ECT, the electronic
cloth take up device, which is part of
Temple support system and pneumatic tucking unit
Tucked selvedge
the computer integrated mechanical
and electronic functions.
Depending on the specification, the
pick densities tend to lie between 5.0
and 14 picks/10 cm for the cord, and
40 to 100 picks/10 cm for the tabbies.
The pick density setting range of the
weaving machine does, however, permit
for densities outside this range.
3. Shedding
A robust cam motion with a 12 mm
pitch is in use for shedding. This unit
is able to satisfy the requirement for
high yarn tensions coupled with
smooth machine operation.
4. Filling insertion
The filling insertion system developed
by DORNIER for its range of air-jet
weaving machines is also being used
for tire cord machines. Here the yarn
length required for the fabric width is
pre-measured in the filling feeder,
accelerated by the main nozzle and
transported through the shed by
relay nozzles operating under group
sequence control are fully electronically
controlled. The filling stop motion
monitors yarn arrival and a stretch
nozzle keeps the weft under tension
until it is secured in the tuck-in motion.
This enables all types of filling yarn
employed in the weaving of tire cord
to be effectively processed. The system
is able to accommodate not only
the usual cotton filling yarns in the
count range 20–33 tex, which are
usually employed for cord fabrics, but
also the high elastic Olboplast yarn
and the above-mentioned coarse
yarns for the tabbies.
5. Selvedge formation
The main problem encountered in prior
art weaving systems lies in the performance
limits imposed on the weaving
Technical Data:
machine by the mechanical elements
of the all-so-important tucking devices.
Although speeds of up to 600 rpm are
achievable nowadays, such values also
tend to lead to frequent failure of the
tucking units and associated with
repairs and downtimes or – worse –
rejections of rolls owing to the selvedges
not being properly tucked to the
standard required.
But with DORNIER’s patented pneumatic
tucking unit, there is now an airjet
weaving machine – the type AWSR
4/E4 – capable for exceeding these
performance limits. As the pneumatic
tuck-in has no movable parts, speeds
up to 800 rpm are possible without
maintenance or high spare part consumption.
All settings are done while
the machine is in operation, so perfect
selvedge formations are easy to
achieve.
6. Fabric winding-up
A special batching technology is
required to enable the inherently
unstable cord fabric to be effectively
wound. The main criteria in this
respect are, in particular, the hardness
of wind, a flush-edge build-up
and ensuring that the filling yarns in
the fabric remain straight, i.e. free of
distortion and skew. The DORNIER
batcher meets all these requirements
in full.
The weaving machine and batcher are
electronically synchronised and constant
fabric tensions are ensured during
all weaving processes even at
standstill. A programmable batch
weight compensation feature eliminates
the disadvantage of having a soft centre
and hard outside in the final-wound
roll.
Type: AWSR 4/E4
Nominal width: 190 cm
Working width: 1000 up to 1880 mm
Colors: 4
Shedding: cam motion
No. of heald frames: 4
Tucking unit: pneumatic
Space requirement: 4790 x 5790 * )
Speed: cord: up to 800 n –1 ; tabby: 300-350 n –1
Winding system: batcher, max. diameter 1800 mm
(2000 mm on request)
* ) Feed frame, weaver’s platform, weaving machine, weaver’s platform
and winder covered with 1800 mm Ø batcher
** ) dependent on yarn character and yarn count

Extensive automation for easy handling
7. Automatic tabby weaving
A further important advantage available
with this new machine lies in its
automatic tabby weaving facility. All
the production-specific data of a
batch, relating to the lengths and
changes between cord- and tabbyweaving,
are transferred together
with the relevant settings by floppy
disc or online to the computer of
the weaving machine, and then
automatically implemented. For the
tabby weaving process, the machine
automatically changes the filling
yarn without stopping, increasing
the pick density and warp
tension to the pre-set values. The
speed is reduced to the programed
level. At the pre-programed point,
the temple swings in to the start of
the tabby fabric. At the end of the
tabby, the same functions are performed
again, but in reverse order.
The DORNIER programing system
offers free selectability in respect of
pick density, yarn tension, speed,
fabric length and batch build to
accommodate all the cord fabrics
encountered in the market place.
After the weaving and machine control
data have been entered, they
are stored ready for reloading for
repeat batches at a later date.
This air-jet weaving machine
in combination with the pneumatic
tucking units offers a
very simple handling, minimum
maintenance with a maximum
output and productivity,
with a minimum space
requirement, with a corresponding
reduction in the requisite
capital outlay. Experts
will be quick to recognize that
these advantages also mean
faster material throughput and
reduced capital tie-up in
inventories.
With full automation of the
cord conversion process, we
are able to offer to the tire
cord industry a technological
lead based on superior performance
characteristics coupled
with assured attainment of the
required quality standards.
Pneumatically controlled swivel temple support in tabby position
Electric-electronic control
Lindauer DORNIER GmbH
88129 Lindau/Germany
Telephone +49 8382 7030
Telefax +49 8382 703386
American DORNIER Machinery Corp.
P.O. Box 668865
Charlotte, N.C. 28266, USA
Telephone +1 704 394 6192
Telefax +1 704 399 2018
DORNIER Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
Area B G/F Block 45
299 Fu TeZhong Road
WaiGaoQiao Tax Free Zone
Shanghai 200131, P.R. China
Telephone +81 21 5046 2838
Telefax +81 21 5046 2138
DORNIER Machinery India
Private Limited
201-A, Sangeet Plaza
Marol Maroshi Road
Andheri (East)
Mumbai 400 059, India
Telephone +91 22 859 8758
Telefax +91 22 859 8760
http://www.lindauerdornier.com
webmaster@lindauerdornier.com
4005/LD/11/07 Subjet to change without notice
TireCord